RF30 alignment guide build

DavidR8

H-M Supporter - Sustaining Member
Staff member
H-M Platinum Supporter
Joined
Oct 16, 2019
Messages
6,562
Inspired by @Gravydog excellent build I decided to embark on my own build.
Picked up a slice of 6” diameter 6061 and faced it off.
I have to say that watching the cutter slowly make its way across the work is somewhat mesmerizing.

The stock was too big to use my toolpost indicator holder to center the work so i had to resort to my ultra cheap iGaging indicator base.

Dialed it in quickly once set up.
Got too cold and hungry to carry on with boring it out.

49daaa6e4c369752cb7cee2e274662d7.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
This kind of suggests..
1. You live similar degrees Lattitude as me (51°N)
2. It's late October, and you don't have heating in your shop.
3. You are not allowed food nor drink in your shop.
Very different from mlofgren98, who had complete refrigerator + cooking facilities!
:)
 
This kind of suggests..
1. You live similar degrees Lattitude as me (51°N)
2. It's late October, and you don't have heating in your shop.
3. You are not allowed food nor drink in your shop.
Very different from mlofgren98, who had complete refrigerator + cooking facilities!
:)

I’m a bit south at 48.4284° N.
Heat is there by way of radiant ceiling and oil radiators. Just hadn’t set them up yet. They are now though :D
Yup if I need food/drink I head inside. Though I have made comments about needing a kettle and tea fixings out there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I made major progress today.
Despite having to interrupt my work to make the long trek inside to make tea. :D

Bored to diameter.
1dfb11e8dbfee4c970ff626f20b15a7c.jpg


Set it up in the mill. I put a parallel face down in the vise so that the scribed centre line was high above a pair of 1-2-3 blocks. I levelled by eye and with a rule.
23a295cccbae85a9eff3b70feaf862ac.jpg


bc3995667e8a50c1da8aad1d69996b7f.jpg

e22c11861df4ec0d1c95dacf654ee400.jpg


I located the center of each side of the ring and marked a vertical and transferred it across the top as a reference.

c6fd71359638f17349b65e34983e52fe.jpg


I pondered how I was going to find the centre of the thicknesses and remembered that I have a DRO. :D
Used my centre finder to locate both edges and then pressed the 1/2 button and cranked the table till the Y axis read .0000.

Popped in a 3/4” end mill and bored the two holes.
5bdd2cca73b6749d589c51397f0c84e7.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
Drilled and tapped!
(I'm annoyed about the nick on the corner of the one piece. I knocked it off the mill table when I was changing tooling. :mad:)
76ee609dcd8d93c6c787be119fe758ac.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
Thanks Frank, I was some bummed when I saw it. It may get further 'cleanup' :D
The finish pass was done at a very slow feed rate, .0027"/rev if I recall correctly. Any faster and it looked like poorly formed threads o_O
 
I don't have an RF-30 mill but I'm following along out of curiosity. Nice work.
I went back and read Gravydog's original post but I'm still trying to figure out the problem being solved. I'm guessing it has to do with the round column allowing the head to shift when you raise and lower it.
 
I don't have an RF-30 mill but I'm following along out of curiosity. Nice work.
I went back and read Gravydog's original post but I'm still trying to figure out the problem being solved. I'm guessing it has to do with the round column allowing the head to shift when you raise and lower it.

Thank you and yes that’s exactly the problem with a round column mill.
If you run out of Z height and you have to raise the head you lose the position.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Back
Top